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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]From the command to start engine from Victory Junction Gang campers to Brad Keselowski manning the tank to rip up the Kansas track after the race ended, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 2nd Annual STP 400.

    Surprising:  While Kansas may be known as the Land of Oz, it was more like the land of highs and lows for this race day, with an extremely high number of engine failures and pit errors to a record low number of cautions.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard, was one of the first to struggle on pit road, missing it completely as he attempted to pit early in the race. Other drivers, such as Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick barely made it to the pits after running short on fuel. And even five-time champion Jimmie Johnson had his own set of pit woes with his team struggling with a loose lug nut.

    There were also an extremely high number of engine problems, affecting  drivers from Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin to four-time champion Jeff Gordon, all of whose engines either sputtered or just plain blew up completely.

    And as for cautions, there were only three, the lowest ever for a Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Although there was the lowest number of cautions, on the flip side, the average speed was surprisingly the highest at Kansas, 144.126 mph, a new track record.

    Not Surprising:  On the rough surface of the Kansas Speedway, it was not surprising that tires made all the difference in the outcome of the race. Just ask Martin Truex, Jr. whose tires fell off after leading 173 laps, costing him the race win and handing it to Denny Hamlin with just 31 laps to go.

    “We put that last set of tires on and it wasn’t anything like it had been all day long – just bad, bad loose,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry said. “We had them. I don’t know what happened with that last set of tires but they were terrible.”

    With Truex’s tire troubles, Denny Hamlin capitalized, scoring his 19th victory in 231 Cup Series races. This was the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota driver’s second victory and fourth top-10 finish in the 2012 season. It was also the first time his manufacturer, Toyota, was in victory lane at Kansas.

    “I knew that he was driving his heart out as well as I was driving mine,” Hamlin said. “What got me the lead was driving hard and that’s kind of where we were able to stretch it out.”

    Surprising:  After scoring the pole position, it was surprisingly heartbreaking that the troubles that have been omnipresent for A.J. Allmendinger continued. The driver of the No. 22 AAA Dodge for Penske Racing went from race leader to a 32nd place finish because of engine troubles.

    “Man, it’s just starting to feel like ‘Ground Hog’s Day’,” Allmendinger said. “We were off to such a great start and then the gremlins hit us.”

    “Not sure how to explain it other than you’re on the pole one minute riding around leading laps and then the next thing you know your car isn’t right,” Dinger continued. “I just couldn’t believe it. Like I said, ‘Ground Hog Day.’

    Not Surprising:  With his confidence growing, it was not surprising to see fellow Penske racer Sam Hornish Jr. have a respectable run in his one off deal for the team. The driver of the No. 12 SKF Penske Dodge scored a 19th place finish.

    “We had a decent day,” Hornish Jr. said. “We led some laps and made a very respectable effort.”

    “It was good to get back in a Cup car again.”

    Surprising:  Since everyone wants to win in front of their friends and family, it was surprising that no home town heroes were in victory lane at Kansas Speedway. Carl Edwards, who was able to drive to the track from his home, finished ninth and Clint Bowyer, fellow Kansas native, had engine troubles, finishing in the 36th spot.

    “It was just a major bummer,” Clint Bowyer, the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said. “I just wish it wouldn’t have happened here.”

    “It wasn’t a great result but a really good effort,” Edwards said of his run in the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion. “I wanted to win here more than anything but we get to come back.”

    “It’s humbling and I can’t wait to come back,” Edwards continued. “We’ll do it.”

    Not Surprising:   The quest for the 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports is not surprisingly beginning to resemble the streak that Susan Lucci experienced with her Daytime Emmy awards. While Hendrick Motorsports had a fairly good day, with the exception of Jeff Gordon, the 200th victory still remains elusive.

    “It just didn’t happen,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger said. “As a group, we know it’s coming.”

    “It’s just when you have a target, it always makes it more challenging,” Gordon continued. “We’re trying not to put too much pressure on us with that and just trying to go out and do our thing and do our job.”

    Surprising:  While Hendrick Motorsports struggled to reach their 200th win marker at Kansas, it was surprising to note that there is another quest for a 200th victory. The race winning No. 11 car in fact now has 199 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories, breaking a tie for most wins all-time with the No. 43.

    Other drivers who have won in the No. 11 car include Cale Yarborough with 55 wins, Ned Jarrett with 49, Darrell Waltrip with 43, Denny Hamlin with 19, Junior Johnson with 11, Bill Elliott with 6, Geoff Bodine with 4, Terry Labonte with 4, Bobby Allison with 3, Buddy Baker with 2, A.J. Foyt with 1, Mario Andretti with 1 and Parnelli Jones with 1.

    Not Surprising:  Greg Biffle, to no one’s surprise, has continued his consistently good runs. The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford finished fifth and more important maintained his points lead.

    “It’s not a disappointing day for a fifth-place finish,” Biffle said. “But it’s probably a disappointing day for how the car ran.”

    “It feels good to be disappointed with a fifth-place finish,” Biff continued. “Fifth is OK but we wanted to compete better on the race track.”

     

  • Kahne Continues Momentum as Non-Chase Driver

    Kahne Continues Momentum as Non-Chase Driver

    Kasey Kahne has been the highest finishing non-chase driver for the second week in a row.  He finished fourth at Dover International Speedway and kept his momentum going heading to Kansas.  Kahne finished second to future teammate Jimmie Johnson in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, giving Red Bull Racing their best finish of the season.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”208″][/media-credit]An incident on pit road on lap 21 set Kahne back from his fifth-place starting position. Under the first caution, Kahne pitted for two tires, only to have the jack break.  Then as he was attempting to leave his pit, he was blocked in by the No. 48 car.  The No. 4 team decided last minute to take four tires, restarting back in 40th position.

    From there, Kahne raced his way from 40th position to sixth position, getting himself back into contention late in the race.  Kahne gave up his position to pit when the fifth caution came out with 28 laps to go.  Crew chief Kenny Francis made the call to pit for four tires and a splash of fuel, to restart the race in 12th position.  Kahne quickly raced to fifth after the restart and found himself in second place with 10 laps to go.

    With two laps to go the final caution came out, eliminating Johnson’s two second lead.  Kahne was able to clear a group of cars on the green-white-checkered restart, but came up short finishing the race in second position.

    On the restart Brad gave me a good push, and I had a shot at Jimmie,” said Kahne. “I just couldn’t really get to him. I thought maybe getting to (Turn) 3 I would go high, and he kind of entered into the middle and then just crept his way to the top and just really didn’t have a shot there at him. But I think we had a good Red Bull car. The guys did a nice job today.”

    At the end of the season, Red Bull will be leaving the team with no word yet whether they will continue as a one car operation.  Kahne will be leaving the team to start his new ride with Hendrick Motorsports, extending through the 2015 season.

  • Johnson wins at Kansas

    Johnson wins at Kansas

    Jimmie Johnson won one of the longest races of the year. The excitement level of this race was very similar to waiting in the waiting room at the dentist office. This race was a long drawn out ordeal. It was painful to watch. The most important thing to remember and the biggest area of concern is the fact that this is the 4th race of the Chase and not a single one of them has been a good race.

    [media-credit name=”Kyle Ocker” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]We need to remember that people paid for tickets to see these races. We are concerned about our ticket sales in the sport and races like this are very illustrative as to why. The long drawn out follow the leader racing does not make for good racing. It does not make for good entertainment. It’s simply in a word boring. The entire broadcast for TV centers much like a vulture circling the 12 chase contenders. Who will have a problem? Will they rebound? Are they out?

    The points changes are broadcast on every 30 minutes, even though the points do not change until the checkered flag waves. Three of the four races have had an exciting ending. But an exciting final 25 to 30 laps doesn’t make a good race it makes a good ending.

    A good race is constant racing throughout the distance. Nascar has yet to manage to produce that with the current car used in competition. Now we are looking at a new COT for 2013. As fans we have to be concerned about our dollars spent on tickets. As members of the media we have to be concerned about our futures in trying to paint a plain white wall with a decorative brush and make it exciting. Simply it’s going to be very difficult to continue to draw fans to the track or the TV with this kind of competition. But ratings are up. They are up because the new points system paints the chase as exciting and close competition. While the points are close the competition simply isn’t there.  Drivers struggle to give entertaining comments and gently avoid talking about the fact that is painfully obvious to even them, the event was boring.

    Jimmie Johnson lead the most laps and he lead the last lap. His domination was slowed only six times. Only three times  for other car incidents. The longer they ran the stronger he got and the further his lead became. At one point he led by 14 seconds. He showed without a shadow of a doubt why they have dominated the Chase for the last five years.

    With his victory Johnson moved to within four points of leader Carl Edwards. By history the points leader leaving Kansas has won the Championship since the Chase’s inception.

    Edwards who struggled all day to stay on the lead lap found himself finishing in the 5th position and taking over the points lead from Kevin Harvick. “What a fun race that was. There was certainly a lot of luck involved there. Man I wanted to win for these home fans at Kansas but this is like getting a win considering how it looked like it could have been. I have to thank my AFLAC team. They did a great job today, they never stopped and we were able to work out way back up there. We were just way off in the beginning but they worked hard all day and it paid off at the end.” Edwards said of his day.

    Second Place Kasey Kahne was a steady occupant in the top ten all day. Staying within striking distance and making the Red Bull Toyota better with ever stop.

    Brad Keselowski finished his Kansas weekend with a third place finish to follow up his win in the Nationwide Series on Saturday. “The Miller Dodge was good. I am proud of the effort. Kind of an up and down day. We got up to be a second or third place car mid part of the race, then kind of fell off a little bit, but came back. Third place day, that’s good. That’s what you’ve got to do. Really we want to win races like Jimmie, but we;re making the est we can out of it. If he stumbles, we’ll be there.”

    This win was the 199th victory for Hendrick Motorsports and clinched the manufacturers Championship for Chevrolet.

    “You know, when I look through all the pictures, since the beginning of Hendrick Motorsports, and I look at the wins, and I remember the celebrations, I can remember vividly that I didn’t know if I’d ever win one race. I know there were some years where I thought, ‘Are we going to win a race this year?’ When you say you’ve won a race in the Cup Series, you’ve accomplished something; but when you think about 200 wins – it’s unbelievable.” Hendrick said.

    “This sport is so tough, look at all the second places we have this year, we have been close but just have not got the job done. We were glad to get the win done today. Big win for Mr. Hendrick, 199 and also Chevrolet winning the Manufacturing Championship, couldn’t do without all them and all the great people at Lowes’, they have been behind us since day one. We did our job today and hopefully we can do it six or seven more times.” Johnson said.

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=30
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 48
    2 5 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 42
    3 12 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 42
    4 4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 41
    5 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 39
    6 14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38
    7 24 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 37
    8 1 16 Greg Biffle Ford 37
    9 21 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 35
    10 9 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 34
    11 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 34
    12 6 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 32
    13 17 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 32
    14 18 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 30
    15 23 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 29
    16 7 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 28
    17 41 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    18 11 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 26
    19 15 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 25
    20 13 6 David Ragan Ford 24
    21 31 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 23
    22 29 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 22
    23 34 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 21
    24 16 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 20
    25 22 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 19
    26 26 198 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 0
    27 36 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    28 42 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
    29 20 20 Joey Logano Toyota 15
    30 33 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 14
    31 38 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 13
    32 30 34 David Gilliland Ford 12
    33 25 46 Scott Speed Ford 0
    34 10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 11
    35 27 0 David Reutimann Toyota 9
    36 8 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 8
    37 35 71 Andy Lally * Ford 7
    38 39 7 Reed Sorenson Dodge 0
    39 40 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 5
    40 32 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 4
    41 43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 37 13 Casey Mears Toyota 2
    43 28 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 1
  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 21 – Kansas – Hollywood Casino 400 – October 9, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 21 – Kansas – Hollywood Casino 400 – October 9, 2011

    “We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto”

    I figured I would add some kind of excitement to this week’s race by using a famous movie quote to break the ice in this week’s column.

    There were 17, uneventful lead changes among 9 drivers during the STP 400 earlier this year at Kansas Speedway, a race that I chose to watch the back of my eyelids rather than the on-track activities. According to this week’s media advance from NASCAR, Kansas Speedway was Brad Keselowski’s coming out party, winning there in June during the series’ first trip to the 1.5-mile track.

    [media-credit name=”Kansasspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Apparently, I missed Keselowski’s run to the front in June, as he was only shown in the top spot for the last 9 laps, the only laps he lead all day. Keselowski’s run to the front started around lap 165, after the 5th and final caution flag flew during the STP 400. The final 102 laps would be run under green-flag conditions and Keselowski would go on to win by a margin of 2.813 seconds over second-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    My picks for June’s race at Kansas Speedway were Jeff Gordon as my Winner Pick and A.J. Allmendinger for my Dark Horse. Gordon finished 4th, and Allmendinger flirted with a Top-15 for the majority of the race, but failed in the fuel-mileage game and ended up finishing 26th.

    I can’t say that I’m overly-excited for the race on Sunday, partly due to the fact that it’s almost guaranteed that that race will come down to fuel-mileage in the end. I AM excited for the second-half of The Chase to start, and to finally visit some tracks that will keep me awake on Sunday Afternoon.

    Dover Recap

    There was no place to go for me but up after my performance two weeks ago at New Hampshire. I had my worst combined total finishes two weeks ago with a 25th and 26th-place finish for my picks. I half-rebounded last week at Dover, scoring a top-5 for my winner pick.

    Let’s start with the bad news this week.

    Greg Biffle was my Dark Horse pick last week at the Monster Mile after an intense look at his statistics prior to last week’s AAA 400. In the prior 5 races at the Monster Mile, Biffle’s finishes were: 19th, 6th, 19th, 3rd, and 16th. In the 5 races prior to the start of the 2009 season, Biffle’s finishes were: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 2nd, and 8th.

    After getting off to a solid start it appeared that Greg Biffle was headed for a top-10 finish in Dover today. He was running seventh when the field restarted on lap 358 following a caution but lost control of his 3M Cubitron II Ford three laps later and made contact with the inside wall. Biffle brought the car to pit road for repairs but went two laps down in the process. When the checkered flag dropped Biffle was in the 27th position. He dropped one spot in the points to 15th.

    “We had a fast car from the start,” said Biffle. “The guys worked hard in the pits all day and we should have had a top-10 finish at the least. We had a pit road penalty early on and were able to bounce back from that but we were just too loose on that last run.”

    My winner pick faired a lot better than Biffle last week, finishing in the runner-up spot. Spinning his tires on the final restart might have cost Jimmie Johnson his seventh victory at Dover International Speedway, but it didn’t hurt his run for a sixth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

    Johnson had led a race-high 157 laps coming into the final restart at Dover’s one-mile concrete oval. He lined up on the front row with Kurt Busch and spun the tires slightly, giving Busch the edge. Johnson crossed the finish line second, improving five spots in the championship standings to fifth.

    Johnson spoke of his troubles on the final restart following the AAA 400 last Sunday “I just got a poor restart when I was the leader, and for the last restart, I didn’t get a good one again,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t race (Busch) through Turns 1 and 2. The cars were very equal. We saw that.”

    I look to parlay my half-rebound last week at Dover into full-on success this weekend at Kansas.

    Kansas Picks

    Chevrolet has claimed 6 victories in the 10 Hollywood Casino 400’s, the most of any other manufacturer, but Chevy hasn’t seen Victory Lane at Kansas since October of 2009. Chevy’s recent lack of success has me looking at a Dodge and a Ford on Sunday.

    Winner Pick

    Due to his success at Kansas in June, and his lack of success in The Chase thus far, Brad Keselowski is receiving my Winner Pick this week. Even though he led just 9 laps en route to his victory at Kansas in June, his teammate Kurt Busch led a race-high 4 times for 152 laps.

    Busch’s soaked up Penske Racing’s pool of luck last week at Dover, and I think its Brad’s turn to hit the spotlight this weekend. He raced his way into the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup in dramatic fashion, but has failed to reach Victory Lane since his win at Bristol in late-August.

    Keselowski is ready to put his name back in the discussion for the Driver’s Championship this year and I say he is the favorite to win on Sunday. “We do want to send a message this weekend that we are going to fight to the finish,” Keselowski said.

    At this point in the season, Keselowski is looking to rebound from a disappointing power-steering issue and 20th place finish last week, and put his name back in the mix to take home the Sprint Cup.

    Dark Horse Pick

    David Ragan will be making his 175th Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Sticking with my trend of not picking a Chase driver for my Dark Horse pick, I think Ragan stands the best shot of bringing home a Top-5 out of all non-chasers this weekend.

    His past finishes at Kansas are less than impressive but Ragan and his Crew Chief, Drew Blickensderfer seem to have the fuel mileage game down to a science. In the prior two races decided by gas (Geico 400 at Chicagoland and Sylvania 300 at Loudon), Ragan finished 11th and 7th respectively.

    Ragan has five prior Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway. With those five starts, Ragan has an average starting position of 16.8 and finishing position of 17.6.

    Ragan said earlier this week “We always look to improve at tracks from the first event there and Kansas is a track that really fits our program. Our engines run well there and our cars are fast. Drew and I are going to work hard to try and grab another win for our UPS team.”

    He will be piloting the car that finished 13th at Kansas Speedway earlier this year, and I think Ragan is a driver ready to pounce on the chances of playing spoiler on Sunday.

    That’s all for this week, stay tuned next week as I make my first trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway with SpeedwayMedia.com editor, Ed Coombs and Photo Journalist, Brad Keppel. I look forward to an exciting week next week, so be sure to stay tuned for live updates on my trip on Twitter @ML_B_Lo.

    Until Next Week…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Biffle takes the Hollywood Casino 400 pole at Kansas

    Biffle takes the Hollywood Casino 400 pole at Kansas

    Qualifying at Kansas took place under cool and cloudy conditions with wind gusts that reached up to 25 mph. At the end of qualifying, Greg Biffle’s Sherwin Williams Ford from Roush Fenway Racing was sitting on the pole with a lap of 174.887 MPH. His teammate Carl Edwards will start outside the front row in the Aflac Ford.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]“Well, it was a really good lap. I think what I really would rather talk about is how slow we were when we unloaded off the truck. It was quite amazing. We were 35th or 37th when we unloaded off the truck today.” Biffle said. “We made about six qualifying runs and the last one was pretty dang good and they changed a bunch more stuff on it for the real one. The car was really good.”

    The pole for the Hollywood Casino 400 was the 8th of Biffle’s career and his best start in 11 tries at the mile and a half track.

    Edwards commented he had never started this far up at Kansas so he was excited. Edwards said “How you qualify is not indicative of how you are going to run in the race.” But he stated that he was excited to be starting so far up in the field.

    It is Roush Fenway’s eighth Sprint Cup pole in 2011, with all four of the team’s Cup drivers having won multiple poles this season. It also marked Roush Fenway’s second Sprint Cup pole at Kansas and its first since 2005.

    Kyle Busch who starts 3rd tomorrow stated that he hoped to have a much better race than he had last time here at Kansas. He also stated that he was happy to see Clint Bowyer added to the Toyota family.

    “We were looking for a little bit more than that, but certainly the pace is a little bit slower than we expected qualifying to be. So far so good. We’ve dodged a couple bullets. The M&M’s Camry unloaded good.” Busch said.

    Austin Dillon qualified 26th to make his first start in the Sprint Cup Series.

    “Thinking about it going up there, I wasn’t nervous all the way up until it was time to go. And then it’s just like you think of every little thing that could go wrong. We were fast enough in practice to get in really fast. That time we actually picked up some more speed, but I think if I would have calmed down a little bit it would have helped my lap.” Dillon said.

    The field is separated by only 0.86 of a second.

     

    Starting Lineup
    Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=30
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 16 Greg Biffle Ford 174.887 30.877
    2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 174.571 30.933
    3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 174.447 30.955
    4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 174.436 30.957
    5 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 174.413 30.961
    6 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 174.317 30.978
    7 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 174.222 30.995
    8 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 174.126 31.012
    9 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 174.092 31.018
    10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 174.048 31.026
    11 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 174.031 31.029
    12 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 174.02 31.031
    13 6 David Ragan Ford 173.863 31.059
    14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 173.617 31.103
    15 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 173.605 31.105
    16 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 173.527 31.119
    17 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 173.327 31.155
    18 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 173.238 31.171
    19 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 173.182 31.181
    20 20 Joey Logano Toyota 173.171 31.183
    21 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 173.066 31.202
    22 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 172.944 31.224
    23 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 172.933 31.226
    24 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 172.889 31.234
    25 46 Scott Speed Ford 172.866 31.238
    26 198 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 172.723 31.264
    27 0 David Reutimann Toyota 172.607 31.285
    28 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 172.568 31.292
    29 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 172.535 31.298
    30 34 David Gilliland Ford 172.43 31.317
    31 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 172.397 31.323
    32 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 172.177 31.363
    33 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 172.161 31.366
    34 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 171.936 31.407
    35 71 Andy Lally* Ford 171.86 31.421
    36 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 171.521 31.483
    37 13 Casey Mears Toyota 171.429 31.5
    38 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 170.989 31.581
    39 7 Reed Sorenson Dodge 170.837 31.609
    40 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 170.53 31.666
    41 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 170.482 31.675
    42 32 Mike Bliss+ Ford 170.132 31.74
    43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 170.148 31.737
  • Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”209″][/media-credit]After crashing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge in practice and having to pull out a backup car, Kurt Busch was despondent, especially thinking that if qualifying was rained out, he would start the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway dead last.

    But the racing gods were with him, the weather held, and Busch snagged his 14th career pole, with a speed of 171.579 mph and a time of 52.454 seconds. This was Busch’s first pole in 21 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “There were quite a bit of different emotions out there today, especially after having to bust out the backup car from yesterday’s  mishap,” Busch said. “If it were raining today, we’d be starting last.”

    “Now luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole,” Busch said. “It’s an amazing swing of events and an honest thank you to my guys. To pull the backup out as a pole winning car is really something you wouldn’t hear about back in the day.”

    Busch’s pole also signified the third straight pole for Penkse Racing and his teammate Brad Keselowski was the winner of last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway. Busch admitted in the media center after his pole run that Penske Racing has indeed turned a corner.

    “We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond and it’s just been some procedures and processes and maybe looking at the data a bit differently,” Busch said. “It’s great to come back out and get on the pole again.”

    Busch also referenced his superstition, feeling that he was stuck on the ‘unlucky 13’ pole.

    “To be number 14 already, really feels good,” Busch said.

    Busch’s crew chief, Steve Addington, echoed his driver’s feelings about the pole run.

    “I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge,” Addington said. “The work they did to get this car ready was awesome.”

    “To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive,” Addington continued. “And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”

    Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, scored the outside pole, with a speed of 171.422 mph and a time of 52.502 seconds. This was Menard’s fifth top-10 start of 2011 and his first such start in nine races at Pocono.

    “We definitely thought it would rain out qualifying today,” Menard said. “So, we tried to post a good time early in practice and felt that would be our qualifying run.”

    “We were hoping for rain, honestly,” Menard continued. “To qualify second and actually put a lap down was pretty cool. It was much more meaningful that way.”

    Four-time champion Jeff Gordon posted his 22nd top-10 start at Pocono Raceway. He qualified third in his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, with a speed of 171.350 mph and a time of 52.524 seconds.

    “I’ll be honest, prior to that run, I was kind of hoping it was going to rain,” Gordon said with a laugh. “We made a couple of qualifying runs yesterday and we weren’t really thrilled with the pace.”

    “The track was definitely a lot different as it was hot and slick,” Gordon continued. “We did our fastest laps in race trim and so we weren’t really sure what to expect today.”

    “We looked at the lap times and seeing just how fast the track was today, it gets you anxious when you ran a 54.10 and guys were running in the 52s,” Gordon said. “It was interesting because right before I left the truck I told Alan (Gustafson), ‘It looks like half a second per corner’ and as a driver, a half a second a corner just isn’t fathomable.”

    “As a driver, to go out there and do that and put up a good lap and be third, I’m thrilled,” Gordon said. “I’m very, very happy.”

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota and past master of Pocono Raceway, qualified fourth with a speed of 171.174 mph and a time of 52.578 seconds.

    Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continued his hot qualifying hand and rounded out the top five, with a speed of 171.164 mph and a time of 52.581 seconds.

    Starting Lineup
    5-Hour Energy 500, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=14
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    1 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 171.579 52.454
    2 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 171.422 52.502
    3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 171.35 52.524
    4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 171.174 52.578
    5 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 171.165 52.581
    6 99 Carl Edwards Ford 171.057 52.614
    7 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 170.836 52.682
    8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 170.532 52.776
    9 0 David Reutimann Toyota 170.348 52.833
    10 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 170.2 52.879
    11 6 David Ragan Ford 170.177 52.886
    12 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 170.126 52.902
    13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 169.908 52.97
    14 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 169.872 52.981
    15 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 169.856 52.986
    16 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 169.702 53.034
    17 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 169.671 53.044
    18 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 169.607 53.064
    19 20 Joey Logano Toyota 169.52 53.091
    20 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 169.501 53.097
    21 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 169.447 53.114
    22 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 169.444 53.115
    23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 169.441 53.116
    24 71 Andy Lally* Ford 169.37 53.138
    25 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 169.307 53.158
    26 38 Sam Hornish Jr. Ford 169.278 53.167
    27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 169.224 53.184
    28 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 169.176 53.199
    29 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 169.17 53.201
    30 34 David Gilliland Ford 169.119 53.217
    31 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 169.113 53.219
    32 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 169.084 53.228
    33 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 168.932 53.276
    34 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 168.89 53.289
    35 13 Casey Mears Toyota 168.666 53.36
    36 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 168.218 53.502
    37 16 Greg Biffle Ford 167.773 53.644
    38 37 Tony Raines Ford 167.395 53.765
    39 181 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 167.264 53.807
    40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 167.057 53.874
    41 32 Mike Bliss Ford 166.867 53.935
    42 7 Scott Wimmer+ Dodge 162.414 55.414
    43 150 T.J. Bell* Toyota 166.633 54.011

  • Joey Coulter Still Feeling Awesome After Career Best Truck Run

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]While much of the attention was focused on what happened after the Truck race at Kansas Speedway, Joey Coulter was still riding on a self-proclaimed high of awesomeness after his career best finish.

    The driver of the No. 22 Richard Childress Racing/Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet started eighth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas this past weekend. Yet he was able to finish the race with the first top five of his rookie season.

    “It was huge,” Coulter said of his run at Kansas. “We’ve had some good runs in the ARCA Series at a mile and a half but to run as good as we did at Kansas was awesome.”

    Coulter contributes his great run to a combination of great pit strategy, keeping up with the race track and working with his RCR teammate Austin Dillon.

    “Austin (Dillon) is a great teammate,” Coulter said. “His crew chief and my crew chief, me and Austin, we talk a lot.”

    “We sit down all the time during practice and talk about what we are fighting,” Coulter continued. “Austin has brought me up to his level really quick.”

    “He’s done a great job explaining to me the different ways to drive these trucks,” Coulter said. “I’ve watched a lot of video and I’ve talked to a lot of drivers and it’s just all that combined that contributed to our run at Kansas and we were just able to put it all together.”

    “We both know that if he is faster than me, he’s the guy I can go to and find out why,” Coulter continued. “That’s going to bring me to his speed. Then once I get there, I might hit on something and end up a little bit faster than him.”

    “He’s going to come to me and we’re going to tell him what we did and it’s just going to keep going back and forth until we’re both really, really fast,” Coulter said. “The great thing about a teammate is that open line of communication is there and you can always get the information you need.”

    “It works and I love having a teammate,” Coulter said. “It’s my first time having one and I love it.”

    Coulter also contributes his success to the equipment available to him at Richard Childress Racing. And finally Coulter gives all the due to his family, who has stood with him since he began his racing journey.

    “RCR in my opinion is the best equipment in the Truck Series,” Coulter said. “The guys that build those trucks are the same guys that go to the race track and work on them at the track.”

    “So, when they build something at the shop, they really put everything they’ve got into it,” Coulter continued. “Everybody puts so much pride into their work that when the race truck rolls into the trailer on the way to the race, it looks more like something that would roll through the block on Barrett Jackson.”

    “These things come out looking great.”

    “My family has been there since the beginning,” Coulter said. “Mom, dad and my girlfriend have been there since I was short track racing in Florida.”

    “It’s really hard for them to miss a race, which is cool,” Coulter continued. “I love having them there.”

    Coulter did take at least a little bit of time to celebrate his great finish. But that run actually made Coulter even more anxious to get to the next track.

    “When I got back after the race, I hung out with my parents and soaked it all in,” Coulter said. “I kept watching the highlights on Speed Center and reading the articles on line, just soaking it all in.”

    “We really enjoyed it, but at the same time it just made me a lot more excited to get to Texas,” Coulter said. “I just kept telling my crew chief, ‘Let’s go to Texas right now. I’m ready to go.’”

    Coulter has actually been to Texas Motor Speedway before, running there last year in the ARCA Series.

    “I love that race track,” Coulter said. “It is so much fun. It’s unreal how fast you can go through the corners with so much grip.”

    “It’s wide open from what I’ve heard,” Coulter continued. “It’s going to be an experience to go around the track and never take your foot off the gas. I can’t wait to do that.”

    Coulter admits that he expects more of the same at Texas as at Kansas in terms of the weather and the intense heat. He credits his growing up in Florida for his ability to handle the heat, that and a new tip that his teammate recently gave to him.

    “I’m very glad that I was born in Florida, where there are two seasons, hot and very hot,” Coulter said. “It’s just something I’ve gotten used to over the years.”

    “My teammate actually got me drinking Pedialyte this weekend and I felt way better before and after the race this time,” Coulter continued. “I’m working out every day like I have been for awhile and that helps with the heat too.”

    Coulter will also be celebrating a personal milestone when he reaches Texas this week. He will turn 21 years old on Wednesday, June 8th.

    “We are actually going to head to Texas a day early so I don’t have to be traveling on my birthday,” Coulter said. “I’m definitely not going to do anything crazy because we have to work this weekend.”

    “I’ll probably go some place and see if they card me,” Coulter said with a chuckle. “I’m excited about it. It’s really kind of like the last real exciting age.”

    For his birthday, Coulter may also indulge in one of his favorite confectionaries. In fact, he is nicknamed after one of them, “Cupcake”.

    “Before the Darlington race, we did a media event, me and Johanna Long,” Coulter said. “We got to talk to a bunch of young kids about how important it is to stay in school.”

    “There was this little hole in the wall, family cupcake place and somehow I got stuck carrying the box of cupcakes,” Coulter continued. “I guess that’s where I got the nickname of ‘cupcake’ from.”

    From celebrating his birthday to his top-five finish, Coulter has just one word to sum up his life at present.

    “Awesome,” Coulter said. “It’s a great feeling to be in the situation I am.”

    “I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunities I’ve had,” Coulter continued. “My dad has always been sure to tell me that there are plenty of unemployed race car drivers.”

    “I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Coulter said. “RCR is an awesome organization and there are an awful lot of awesome people that have gotten me to where I am.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    With emotional visits and relief efforts to the tornado-ravaged heartland of the country overshadowed by an altercation between team owner Richard Childress and driver Kyle Busch after the Kansas Truck Series race, the Cup drivers took to the unanimously proclaimed ‘hot and slick’ track in Kansas City.

    Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.

    Surprising: In spite of all of the reports of Kyle Busch being ‘pummeled’ by Richard Childress after giving RCR’s truck driver Joey Coulter a nudge after the race, Busch arrived at the speedway for the race sans sun glasses and looking surprisingly unscathed.

    It was also surprising to see Mike Helton address the media prior to the race, sharing that NASCAR had met with Busch and Childress, as well as Busch’s team owner Joe Gibbs. Helton advised that all were warned to get through the race before any further actions would be taken by the sanctioning body, which is expected on Monday.

    “I met with NASCAR,” Busch said. “Whatever they feel best to protect their sport and to protect what we have going on here is to their best discretion. I’m all for whatever they decide to do.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that, in addition to the heat between Busch and Childress, the heat on the track, in the cars and in the grandstands was the other major topic of conversation.

    “It’s hot today,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet said. “Did you notice that?”

    “You sit in a sauna for four hours,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, said. “That’s pretty much what you’ve got.”

    The only one who found amusement in the heat was iron man driver of the No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford, Carl Edwards. During the race the driver quipped that he was a little chilly and would appreciate either some coffee or some hot chocolate.

    Surprising:  In spite of the heat for most everyone else other than Edwards, it was surprising how calm, cool and collected Brad Keselowski was behind the wheel of the Miller Lite Blue Deuce. With the threat of running out of fuel, Keselowski reduced his speed, stayed strategically ahead of his competitors, feathered his throttle, kicked in the clutch and coasted through the corners for most of the final laps of the race.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Keselowski, who started 25th, also coasted to the checkered flag, winning his first race of the season and giving his crew chief Paul Wolfe his first ever Cup Series victory. This was Keselowski’s first win since Talladega in April of 2009.

    “You can only put yourself in that position so many times before you’re going to catch the right break,” Keselowski said. “We caught a great break today because of all the hard work by the Miller Lite team. We got great gas mileage and that didn’t hurt either.”

    “It was because of the struggles and bad finishes that I really appreciate this.”

    Not Surprising: Yet again, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was good in a fuel mileage race yet still came up short at the finish line. Junior, who came in second, posted his seventh top-10 finish in 2011 and his fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Kansas Speedway.

    “We shouldn’t have run second today but we have fast cars,” Junior said. “I had a good car, you know.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising that the Roush Fenway Racing bunch were not quite as stellar as expected, particularly given the driver ratings headed into the race. It was also surprising that Missouri native Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, with his new sponsor Affliction Clothing on his No. 17 Ford, topped the RFR camp, with fifth and sixth place finishes respectively.

    Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Walgreen’s Ford, who was expected to take home a victory, finished tenth instead, and the driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford David Ragan finished 13th. In spite of not bringing home the trophy, all four of the Roush Fenway Racing team members finished in the top 15.

    Edwards managed to lead 29 laps of the race and his finish ratcheted his points lead to 40 over second place Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, who finished seventh. Kenseth held serve as seventh in points, Biffle lost one position to 12th and Ragan moved up one place to the 17th spot.

    “I really wanted to win,” Edwards said, most likely speaking for the entire Roush Fenway Racing crew. “I had a good time though and it is my new favorite race track.”

    Not Surprising:  With the season officially at halfway to the Chase, it was not surprising that two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon, this week behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, were determined to have good days at the track that would move them back into Chase contention.

    Hamlin, who came in third, moved up to 11th in points.

    “I’m proud of our whole FedEx Freight team,” Hamlin said. “We’re battling back and getting ourselves back into position.”

    Jeff Gordon brought his car to the checkered flag in the fourth position, moving him up to 13th in the points as the only driver with a win eligible for the wild card at present.

    “Well, it was an awesome run for our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “We had a great race car all weekend long. All in all, a great top-five.”

    Surprising:  It was also a bit surprising that pole sitter Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 AAA Dodge for Penske Racing who dominated much of the race, and outside pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, behind the wheel of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, did not have better finishes.

    After some fuel mileage struggles, Busch was able to bring his car home in the ninth position. JPM, on the other hand, hit one of the seams in the track and then the wall, relegating him to a 17th place finish.

    “To have a car to lead laps today and be very competitive, I was all smiles,” Busch said. “It’s just one of those days where you’re on the right side and sometimes you’re not. For all my guys, we’ll take this one.”

    Not Surprising:  After a hot and sticky day on the track, it was not surprising that one driver in particular was still smoking, at least in a positive way. Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 The Glades/Office Depot Chevrolet, not only secured a top ten finish but now has his eyes and his heart set on The Prelude to the Dream at his race track, Eldora Speedway.

    “Our guys did a great job and we really had a good car today,” Smoke said. “The good news is we get to get out of here and go work at Eldora tomorrow.”

     

  • Fuel Mileage In America’s Heartland, The STP 400 at Kansas

    Fuel Mileage In America’s Heartland, The STP 400 at Kansas

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”248″][/media-credit]For the second straight week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series saw a race come down to fuel mileage once again involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. Like last week, Earnhardt came up short as it was Michigan’s Brad Keselowski taking the blue deuce back to victory lane in the inaugural STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway. Brad was able to stretch his fuel for the final 57 lap run to earn his second career victory. Keselowski said, “I didn’t even realize I was in the lead until two to go when I looked at the pylon.” It was the first victory for Keselowski since Talladega in the spring of 2009, and the first win for both Dodge and Penske for the 2011 season.

    So much for Kurt Busch having “undriveable” cars this season. Kurt took the lead on lap 18 from Juan Pablo Montoya and began to pull away. The elder Busch lead 152 laps. That’s quite a feet considering that prior to Sunday’s race, Kurt had only lead 123 through the first 12 races of this season. It wasn’t until lap 258 when the day went wrong for Kurt when he was forced to pit for fuel. Then, just one lap later, he struggled getting the car going as the fuel was not picking up to the motor. Kurt was still able to salvage a ninth place finish on the day catapulting him to sixth in the point standings

    Tony Stewart was another driver that got a much deserved good day. Kansas has always been a great track for Smoke as he is a two time winner in America’s Heartland( 2006 and 2009 respectively). Stewart ran up towards the front just about all race long and looked like he may challenge for his first win in 2011. That all came to and end when he like most drivers, had to pit for fuel late in the race. It wasn’t all for nothing though, Tony got an eighth place finish and moved up one spot to eighth in the points. Just the day Smoke needed to kick off the summer stretch of the season.

    As always, there were some notable performances from Sunday’s STP 400 that had an overall good day.

    Remember how everyone pretty much wrote off Denny Hamlin about five weeks ago? Well, don’t look now, but Denny is back. Hamlin had a very strong showing on Sunday once again. Hamlin was able to get out front, lead some laps, battle in the top five and ultimately came home in the third spot. Hamlin now sits eleventh in the Sprint Cup points which currently qualifies him for the wild card spot.

    Denny’s arch enemy from last year, Jimmie Johnson, also had a strong showing on Sunday. The five time champ battled his way up from the thirty-first starting position to finish a respectable seventh on the day. This shows that the 48 team does not need a good qualifying run in order to run well and get a good finish. They showed preserverance and determination as they took to the slick Kansas Speedway. Johnson now sits third in the points, 40 markers out of the lead. That’s nearly a whole race out. The 48 team will have to have runs just like this one, and better if they want a shot at Carl Edwards in the chase.

    Sunday also brings the NASCAR on FOX portion of the season to a close. 2011 marks the 11th season of the combination and arguably the best one of the relationship. The entire crew from the booth to the Hollywood Hotel and pit road stepped up to the plate and delivered a terrific presentation to the viewers at home. The coverage now switches to TNT and they kick off their fifth annual “TNT Summer Six Pack” which includes the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and the inaugural Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway.

    Sunday’s race provided everything we normally see when we go to a 1.5 mile track. Side by side racing, long green flag runs, pit strategy and the occasional fuel mileage duel. We saw that many races may come down to fuel mileage which will create many tense moments in races to come. I personally can not wait to see whats to come next weekend in the Poconos.

    Next Race- Pocono 500 on TNT